Jaci Dawn

Well, a perfect day to work in the garden and pull weeds.

It was a very nice week-end, but I didn’t even get out in the yard on Saturday: too many other errands to run plus a baby shower to go to in the evening. BUT (there’s always a “but”, isn’t there?) I saw something garden related that stopped me in my tracks. It also cost me some money. I was on my way to Target to get a baby gift as I passed the hitsoric Stevens-Crawford Heritage House (museum).

PLANT SALE.

Clackamas County Historical Society puts this one every year and I never miss it, even though most years it is rather lame. I love perusing the plants someone dug out of their own backyard to sell, love the busy members of the historical society, and I love buying something that helps fund our museums. In other words: a benefit that is near and dear to my heart.

I stopped on my way back home from Target.

I only had $14 in my wallet, but I rarely spend that much at their sales. I think last year I spent less than $10 and got a couple hellebores (Lenten Rose) and some blue-eyed grass (an Oregon native plant). But this year they had three times the inventory and a lot more shrubs.

And I found this.

There was a tag on it, but I really had no idea what it was. All I knew was 1) it smelled amazing 2) it had great shape and 3) it was priced $10.00

Fothergilla Major Blue Shadow – it grows 6′-8′ tall and has an added bonus of being extremely showy in the fall with bright red-orange and purplish leaves.

I returned to the plant sale after I got groceries and some more change (they don’t take debit cards and I didn’t have my check book with me). I spent $20 more.

One pot filled with several pink Oriental poppies, another hellebore, 2 more clumps of blue-eyed grass and a 4″ pot of Love-in-a-Mist which is a self-seeding annual (I try to avoid annuals).

Today I had to run back to the store because I forgot (!!) dog treats when I was running around yesterday. And I fell in love with this.

WHY do I do this? I have a hard time keeping the flowers in hanging baskets alive all summer, but I never seem to be able to walk away from them. $14.

I made myself come home after that. The dogs were happy that I remembered their treats.

I then spent four blissful hours in my prayer garden, weeding, digging up bleeding hearts and dropping snails (and slugs) into poison. I cursed myself for thinking I was doing the bleeding hearts a favor by rescuing them from under the handicap ramp and planting them in my flower bed. Who knew the cursed things would take over?

I didn’t get them all dug out: they will be back by fall. But I drastically forestalled their take-over of my garden. I even pulled out a number of forget-me-nots, but decided that I love the blue too much to dig them all out. I will regret that decision when the flowers all drop off and the sticky little seeds entangle in Harvey’s silky hair, stick to my socks and clothes, and generally wreak havoc as uninvited hitchhikers. The seed pods are made of Velcro™.

The only thing I did not get accomplished was edging that damn grass back. I did, however, buy plastic edging to put down to stop the grass when I do get it edged back (again). I found the blue-eyed grass and both hellebores I bought last year from the benefit sale at Stevens-Crawford Heritage House.

Now if I could figure out a way to kill the bleeding hearts that I dug up… (I left a clump in the very back corner, but I pulled all the ones that were in the foreground – those are the ones whose roots I want to kill. Preferably in an organic manner so I can plant something else in the vacancy.

I put my tools away and fetched my camera because the day was still young and Spring is in the air and…

I had an essay to write, still.

The espalier apple trees are in full bloom.

I love apple blossoms.

I *hate* Camellias. They are pretty for 5 seconds.

Then they turn into brown mush six inches deep under the bush.

This is the best photo I can come up with to show the snow damage to the one rhododendron. It was a round bush, but now it looks like someone sliced off a portion of the circle on top. Poor rhodie!

This is the lilac that came with the house. I moved it when we moved in because it was struggling in the corner it was planted in. I didn’t expect the neighbor’s fir tree to overshadow it. It is still struggling to thrive, but it looks much fuller this year.

I call this my Cindy lilac because my friend, Cindy, gave it to me when it was just a twig. It has outgrown the other lilac.

I love lilacs.

I also love that I live in Oregon and in the Portland metro area where we have free curbside recycling. I filled the yard debris can today (it will be taken to a compost site and will be turned into something beneficial for gardens). I can’t compost it because my compost pile doesn’t get hot enough to kill the weed seeds. Where this is going, it gets hot enough.

The big grey bin is for our regular recycles (plastic & paper) and the little blue one is for our garbage. We pay for the blue one. The others are free.

(And I do have a compost bin, but I can’t possible compost everything I pull up in my yard, so quite a bit of it goes to Metro.)

I am tired.

And I haven’t even planted my new plants (yet).